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Did China win the Korean War?
This episode delves into the complexities of the Korean War from China's perspective, questioning whether China truly emerged victorious. We explore the devastating human and economic costs incur...
Did China win the Korean War?
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Interactive Transcript
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Today, we are asking a profound question. Did China truly win the Korean War as they claimed?
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The war was devastating, wave after wave of Chinese soldiers charged American positions,
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only to be cut down by overwhelming firepower. In the unforgiving,
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man has 40 degrees Celsius winter, countless others froze to death, with interdivisions disappearing
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into the cold, but is a true cost when far beyond the battlefield. What lasting price did
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ordinary Chinese pay for the so-called great victory proclaimed by the Communist Party?
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Was it really a triumph or a tragedy to costly to justify? Stay with us as we uncover the
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hidden truth of the Korean War from China's perspective, stories that remained at herd by many.
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On October 25th, 1950, South Korean forces first encountered Chinese troops. Just a days later,
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the Chinese engaged the US army, finally revealing their presence to General Macaso,
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but Macaso remained confident, believing the Chinese force to be no more than 30,000 soldiers.
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How could a larger, heavily armed force evade the constant US air-rich civilians? What he
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didn't realize was that over 200,000 Chinese troops had already crossed into Korea.
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Within weeks, the US army found itself joined to their chosen reservoir,
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precisely where the Chinese wanted it. Moms don't want to be thrilled. Convinced the
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soft-played boys of America would retreat at his first design of a real fight. He seemed to
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forget it all, that it just five years earlier. The same American forces were called soft,
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by the Japanese at Iwo Jima at Okinawa, with devastating consequences. On November 7th,
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Moms sent an ambitious message to his commanders. We aim to destroy seven or eight enemy regiments
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in a month and push the front line to the Pyongyang once and real-world. If successful,
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we will achieve a decisive victory. At this moment, Moms' confidence exceeded that even of General
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Makarso, who led the strongest military in the world. This overconfidence led Moms to dispatch
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the Nanskore into Korea as quickly as possible, setting the stage for one of the most tragic and
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grudging battles of the Korean War, the battle of chosen reservoir. Most of the Nanskore would never
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return, lost to the unforgiving winter of the 1950s. Just a few months before, in the early autumn of
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1950, Moms ordered the Nanskore stationed in the warm Fujian province and, originally, prepared for
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an invasion of Taiwan to redeploy near the China-Korea border. But there was a big problem, the weather.
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The difference in climate was massive and the commanders quickly requested winter gear for the troops.
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Moms ignored the request. On October 12th, Moms' growing impatient demanded immediate deployment.
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Again, his generals urged him to delay until winter supplies arrived, but he refused.
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Over the next two weeks, he issued repeated orders for deployment. In the rushed war,
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since like winter closing, seemed like trivial details to him, he had bigger dreams to fulfill.
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The Nanskore, nearly 150,000 strong, boarded the troops and heading north. Their mission was to
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encircle and destroy the advancing Americans. By late October, the weather was already getting cold
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when soldiers arrived near the border. Under most orders, they left their heavy weapons behind.
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Armored with only 80 bullets each, with neither tanks, air support, nor anti-aircraft defenses,
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they marched through North Korean's rock, mountainous terrain, and there's a cover of darkness.
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General Mokalsa believed that for China to fight the US army, they would need heavy equipment
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and vast supplies, making it impossible for them to hide from American air patrols.
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No one imagined that any Russian commander would send hundreds of thousands of
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ill-equipped troops into battle against the US military, especially in such brutal winter conditions,
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but Mokalsa was wrong, while dating the sink like other commanders.
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Just as both sides expected, American air forces dominated the skies, the sea, and the land.
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The 30,000 US and the UN troops stationed at the chosen reservoir were backed by five aircraft
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carriers and massive land artillery support. Mokals had envisioned a swift and decisive victory,
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hoping to wipe out several US divisions, but quickly learned that destroying even a single
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American battalion was difficult. Wave after wave of Chinese soldiers charged forward,
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only to be met by a relentless barrage of American artillery and a napalm.
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After each assault, the battlefield was littered with countless bodies. To American generals,
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it appeared as though Chinese commanders saw their soldiers' lives as expendable.
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Their high tolerance for casualties left the Americans in horror.
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Despite the overwhelming firepower, the sheer number of Chinese soldiers proved unstoppable.
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The Americans so far themselves completely surrounded. To make matters worse,
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the Brut who winter conditions only added to their struggle, forcing them to fight their way out
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of the encirclement in a desperate bid for survival. In comparison, the extreme code made the Chinese
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suffer the most. Within just a week of entering Korea, the Chinese army had already lost at
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least 30% of its men. During the battle, both American and Chinese records describe
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entire companies of Chinese soldiers freezing to death. In one shooting incident,
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we treated American Marines stumbled upon a group of Chinese soldiers, but there was no gunfire.
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On closer inspection, the entire company had frozen solid while lying in ambush.
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It was a sound of ice and fire. After weeks of brutal fighting,
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Chinese divisions, like the 58th and the 60th, were reduced to just a few hundred men,
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less than 5% of their original screens just a one month before. The code didn't stop the American
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retreat anymore. By December 11th, all American troops and over 100,000 Korean refugees
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had successfully retreated from the port of Hanam, marking the end of the battle of chosen reservoir.
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Near the 80% of the 80th soldiers sent into battle were lost. The next call was effectively wiped out.
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For the Americans, it was survival rather than victory, despite their enemies far higher
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casualties. But for Mao, a victory was a victory. The cost didn't matter. Upon hearing of the
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American withdrawal and casualties, Mao excitedly declared their telegram to his commanders on
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December horse. This is a great victory. As the country's Chinese soldiers perished in the war,
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Mao Zedong had to justify the heavy losses to the public. Back in 1950, it wasn't easy to stir
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up hatred towards the US among the Chinese people. In fact, many Chinese held a genuine goodwill
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toward America. Since the 19th century, Americans had built many hospitals and schools in China.
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And Zed had helped the Chinese defeated the Japanese invaders during the Second World War.
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But now, Mao needed to convince the people that America was the most evil and wicked nation in the
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world. His strategy was very simple. Control every aspect of people's lives and restrict the flow
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of information, cut off their connection with the rest of the world, and a broom wash them with
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propaganda and constant fear. From 1950 to 1950's raid, anyone who did in the fall of the official
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narrative was labeled as American spy, or an enemy of the people, and persecuted. Their families
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would become autists. Around two many so-called counter-revolutionaries, many of whom had worked for
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the old nationalized government and were pro-America, were executed, propaganda was everywhere,
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xenophobia rules, and mass hysteria took over. People started reporting and informing each other
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just to protect themselves. The party took over businesses in the cities and grabbed four
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control of food production in the countryside. And when desperately people resisted, they were
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mercilessly crushed by the people's liberation army. In the end, Mao gained a complete control
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over Chinese society, whether or not fear, or just going with the flow, people accepted the official
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narrative and hatred of America quickly took root. Mao's hatred for the US wasn't rooted in
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anything America had done. It was the mere existence of a free country like America that striking
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his rule. America, with this deep tradition of freedom, was a leaving example of what China could
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become, which terrified them all. A free society set a dangerous precedent for his people, and could
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undermine his control. And it wasn't just the Americans, Mao even saw the Soviets as a threat.
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When Khrushchev denounced Stalin under the court of personality, Mao's disdain for him grew.
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Eventually leading to the Sanosuvia plate, Mao knew that if such ideological reforms reached
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China, his grip on power would be at risk. Stalinism, with its totalitarian control, was the only
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pass that ensured his survival. After the brutal battle of chosen reservoir, both sides were
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exhausted. By June 1951, ceasefire negotiations began, but Mao wasn't ready to enter the war
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without a grand victory. The fact that the US initiated the ceasefire talks only convinced
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him that his assessment of Americans was right. They couldn't handle prolonged casualties,
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and China was underbring a victory. Why stop now? While President Truman faced the pressure
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from Republicans and international allies, Mao didn't have such concerns, the only person who
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could stop him was Stalin, and the Stalin shared Mao's views. Field commander Pungdehwa
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understood that their conditions of Chinese soldiers on the front lines,
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and urged Mao to reconsider, but Mao rejected his pleas. A shurling Pung that more soldiers would
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arrive, and is able to unify the current peninsula. The war struck on for another two years,
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brutal battles followed, with peace talks repeatedly stalling over the issue of prisoner exchanges.
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China demanded the repatriation of all POWs to the mainland, while the US insisted on voluntary
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repatriation. Perhaps this was merely a pretext for Mao to extend the war, or perhaps it was a
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matter of saving face. Many Chinese prisoners expressed a desire to go to Taiwan,
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which would have been a significant loss of face for Mao.
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The conflict continued to claim heavy casualties for all involved, except the Soviets.
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Starting with happy to supply China with weapons, and say the US is stuck in an ongoing war,
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By 1953, even Kim Jong-un had a growing weary of the war, realizing reunification was
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impossible, he just wanted to return to rule his small kingdom. Ironically, by this point,
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Mao was more committed to unifying Korea than even came, Mao needed a victory at any cost.
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However, with Stalin's death in 1953, everything changed. New Soviet leaders like Beryat and Khrushchev
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saw no point in continuing the war, in combination with President Eisenhower's threat of using
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nukes, Mao eventually agreed to assist Faire. The war was finally over.
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Here, we have to answer the big question, did China win the war? To understand this, we need to
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consider the price China paid. First, how many Chinese soldiers died? The exact number remains
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debated, but here we try to give you an estimate. China's official report lists 180,000 military
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deaths, while US estimates range from 180,000 to 400,000. Soviet's report suggests over half a minute.
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Here, we dismissed China's official numbers due to the widespread falsification of records,
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unlike the US, which carefully documented every fall in soldier. Most Chinese troops were buried
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in a marked graves without records, and there's even evidence that a medical files were deliberately
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destroyed. The Soviets, as China's allies, though often knowing for falsifying documents, had no
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reason to cover up for China, making their figures more reliant. By combining US and Soviet estimates,
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we believe that over 400,000 Chinese soldiers died. In contrast, the US lost around 37,000 troops,
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creating a staggering death ratio of nearly 10 to 1. Aside from the human loss, what other
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price did China pay? Over 40% of China's GDP was directed toward funding the war, and as a country
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had to be a massive death to the Soviet Union. Combined with US imposed sanctions, China was
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making China a pariah state. You might think, at least the malgain is a friendship of the Soviets,
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right? But just three years later, in 1956 Mao's relationship with Khrushchev fell apart,
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eventually leading to the Sanosovian split. By 1969, the two nations were still hostile,
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that is the Soviets almost a new China. Or maybe you think China at least earned North Koreans
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trust. After all, it sent to China that the brutal king regime still holds firm control over
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its 26 million people today, keeping them enslaved. But as a truth is more complicated,
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even before the war, Kim and Sun didn't trust Mao, and China's influence over North Korea
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during the war only depended on the resentment. The tension between the two nations has been
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masked for years by the facade of a strong relationship that continued to this day.
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So was it a victory or defeat? That really depends on how you look at it.
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For the Chinese people, the Korean War was a total disaster.
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Countless lives lost, just to preserve why of the most oppressive dictatorship in the war.
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But for Mao Zedong and the communist party, it was a great victory, a sacrifice entirely
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worthwhile. The war strengthened Mao's grip on power and made his authority unshicable.
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And as a relentless anti-American and anti-wised propaganda that came out of that war still
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influences Chinese society today and keeps the party's control firmly in place.
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If you are curious about why the Mao really wanted to join the Korean War,
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please check out my last video for the full story. Next time, we will dive into the complex
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relationship between China and North Korea. Even today, Kim Jun-in,
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Ruse North Korea, with an air-in-faced, keeping millions of people trapped in what is
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probably the most brutal regime in the world. For the past 70 years, the Kim family's
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grip on power has only survived thanks to China's unwavering support. But here's a real question,
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how do China and North Korea truly view each other? Is their friendship as strong as the
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official narrative claims, or has their relationship always concealed their mutual resentment and mistrust?
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Stay tuned, see you next time.